Shoe structure



Sept 5, 1950 H. L. PlERsoN l 2,521,252

' v SHOE STRUCTURE Filed nec. 22, 1949 Patented Sept. 5, 1950 PnrENlrSHOE- STRUCTURE-.

ration'of'New Yorkd This.finventionrelatesto a shore` structure, with..morefpartcular reirencetothe general typet, shoe, including., an insoleto, which an: uppen is attachedandanouter. sole attached to. the upper.,and.:V inso1e,,and it has,l forA its'` chief purpose, toy aord a. sole,Yconstruction th'atl possesses greater f flexibility resiliency-,-uniformity and wearing; Qualitiesthan heretofore. possible .in shoeslof.this character, without, increasing the ,cost of manuefacture.

In ,shoes ofjthis type, 4where an .upper and Welt are attached'byconventional" stitching; processes to,an insole,the recess formed b'ythe attached" portions-g; ofl the4 upper and4 insole isi. usuallyllledwithga p1astic.,mass of groundcorkor like.' material; spread over'Athe recess with ,ai suitable: instrument to level ofithe plastic;llenWithth-e" surrounding, wall or,` attached; portions of" the; upperand "insole, Vafter 4whichA the. shoe islevelledd and' the vouter,'soleattachedin the,conventionalX 20 mannery and withi slicesA constructed'.ir'rthis' fashion,` ,the-p1astic' massb'etween the inner `and outerusolesl disinte'grates and' breaks# down after.- a short; time;spreading'irregularly overthe" area withinV which' it is; confined; andlresultingdn de- 25 pressions and'funevennessinfthe'A inner sole on'Whichth'e foot'rests; or bumpsand-holloWs-intheffoot-engagingrsurface=of' the innersole,- leadingUV toconsiderable discomfort, and it'isapurposeof i theinvention toovercomethisV objection by 30 eliminating the use of aplastic llerg' whichhardensafter itf'isj-inplace butsubsequently dis` integrates;and-substitutingforsuchplastie ll'er aeiller blank cutfroma* sheetofihighlyhcomefpressed i groundcork orx other suitable@ resilient# 35material combined" with= al` latex cement orf suit@ able'-rubberbinder/united: under'heavy pressureL to produce a sheetof'funiformfthicklness thatiwill'j maintainl its'l original i surfacesand its resiliency] indefinitely#y Without"v breaking down' orf disin'v40 tegrating,l the=f1ller= blank beingc-ut to ii't'f the recess-"boundedby-rthef.attacliedportions of the@ Various" attemptsL haves beenmad'etov employ: 45 cut-"filler` blanks iny rthe described irelationshipLlb'utf the results have `been unsuccessful from-aepraoti-i caistandpoint owing to `the y dili'cu-lty Y in cutting f a blank' to taccurately withirr the recess-f and` tothe 'tendencyiofthelinsolelto'drop somewhat-i111 50 relationAY to the filler blank in=certain2types=roshoesf chara'cteriz'edby= g-utter'in =therinsolel ima-- mediatelyyabove=the1edgeeof -:the: fill-rfblanlg and# iti' is -.afurtherl purpose`oiftliel invention f to` over come the first of these obstacles byiormingiftlie:x 55

edge` of* the 'ller blankwitlr peripheral recessespreferablyrin the,form oi Vesha'ped* openings or' otl'iervvise,-v affordingl edgeportions" of reduced width-orftapering which'iiex-'laterallir andadjust' themselves to' the wall formed by` the attached" portions= of`theI insole and' upper,I so thatraY cuti ller-of givensize willtsatisfactoril'v in different sized shoes in which -tlie lrecessesvmayvary slightl lyfinsize,` making it'unnecessaryfto cut theuller:blank-withan ed'geltliatfts exactly .inthe recess?V Another object4` of`'the I inventionr isftosupport` effectively' the portionAlofthee-insole.thatfoverliess the lgutter of the -insoleand the edgezof"the-fllenV byi` placing 'Within'. theal gutter area?. of? the;insole-5 af. plastici.:ll'er:- that'ioccupies thea-gutteirandxa'lso;flllsfztheisparcessbetweem reduced-or taperechedges portionseotacutuller whenfthe-'lattervis inserted; init-he:recess;andfpressedagainst the-finsole, withitheyresultethaftthezlzcut*llerandinsoleare; char4 acterizedf. byuniformly-1 smoothf. continuous;- and:uninterrruztedasuriaces.extendingfcoInpletel-ybe,` imveerrlth-e-:srsidescof the insole atsthenball.portion7 of :thershoao`= thatthere-Ifisfnoroppprtunityfforr irregularities; or depressions forming.;in.,the` ins sole; af-terfvthe ,'shoe. has. .been, worn for.'A a,while., since: the cutllerlv is. supported so, as, to, giveaeuniformly,A smoothn resilient; surface. completely.-c under the insole.,between thel sides., thereof, andi.

, will maintain its uniform thickness ,andreslency indenitelythroughoutthe. life,ofthe shoe.

To. these, and other endsf, the invention con: sistss in, theconstruction. andv arrangement. of L' parts fthatlwill;appear, clearlyfromv the.. following description whenlreadlin, conjunction with the:accompanying drawings, the novel'ieatures.. be'- ing ipointed loutin the,claims followingthe speci; cations;

In the drawings:

Fig:,1, isa" transverse vertical sectionaLview partially broken away;showinga Weltitype of: shoe constructed in accordancevwith' apreferred?. embodiment` of the invention, the; section: being;I takenvthrough" the widest" portion of the` lle'r'v blank;

Fig;-v 271sLV anenlargedf detail sectional lviewfpar' tially brokenaway,v illustrating the upper, welt;

andV `insole'with lits attaching-portion; showing the position of-i4 theplastic fillerl before applying" the'I cutillerblankx;

Figi; 3"fis:a1view-sixnilar toFi'g; 2; showingthefller attached, thesectionbeing taken I through1 Fig. 4 is =afvew-inelevation of the-i'lllerl blank; Fig: 5:1isf1a1view inelevation of thelshoe after: thesinner sole; welt; upper' and' cutfvller lolanlrtY 3 are attached,showing the ller blank in position in the recess before attaching theouter sole, and

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of the insole showing the attachingflange or lip formed integral therewith.

The invention is applicable to any shoe where it is desirable to arrangea resilient, flexible filler between an insole and outer sole, and isshown applied to a welt-type of shoe in which a welt and upper areattached to a flange or lip cut from and formed integral with an insole,the cut filler blank being positioned in the recess surrounded andformed by the wall consisting of the attached portions of the insoleflange, upper and welt.

Fig. 6 shows the insole used in the structure disclosed and preferablyconsisting of any li-ght-v weight, flexible material such as a curriedleather split, or any comparatively soft, flexible leather, as indicatedat I, the insole being cut as indicated at 2 to `provide a flange or lip3 that is bent upwardly away from the body of the insole to afford anattaching portion to which the upper and welt are stitched in the usualmanner.

In the structure shown, canvas strips Il and are suitably fastened onopposite sides of the flange or lip 3, being attached by cement to theadjacent surfaces of the flange 3 and the adjacent areas of the insoleat the base of the flange to impart sufficient strength to the flange topermit of attaching the upper and welt while permitting the use of anextremely soft, flexible, light-weight insole. After the insole has beenprepared with the flange or lip 3 projecting away from its one surfaceand provided on opposite sides with the canvas strips 4 and 5, the upper6 and welt 1 are stitched to the flan-ge 3 of the insole by thestitching 8, as usual in this type of construction, the assembledinsole, upper and welt being disposed on a last during these openations,after which it is in condition to receive the ller blank and outer sole.lThe structure thus far described is conventional, and the inventionforming the subject matter of this application has to do with thecharacter and form of the filler blank and the manner in which it isattached to the insole.

With a shoe such as described, the formation of the flange or lip 3 inthe insole and bending of the flange away from the insole results in agutter or depression adjacent to and inwardly of the flange 3 at thebase of the latter, see Figs. 2 and 6, and in order to prevent theinsole from dropping at such point or the edge of a cut filler frommoving into such gutter or depression, the gutter is first provided witha mass of plastic filler 9 of ground cork and adhesive that is appliedinto and above the gutter or depression at the base of the flange 3, sothat when the cut filler blank is laid over and pressed against theinsole, the inner surface of the filler blank will lie flat throughoutits entire area and there is no tendency for the edge of the fillerblank to bend into the gutter of the insole or permit an objectionableirregularity in the inner` surface of the insole that results if thelatter drops away toward the ller blank. Thus the insole can not breakdown at points overlying the gutter, which When fllled with the plasticholds the insole in its proper position throughout and maintains auniformly smooth and resilient surface entirely across the insole at theball portion of the shoe.

The cut ller blank is shown in Fig, 4 and is preferably made from asheet of sufficiently thick,

resilient, flexible material such as ground cork and latex, or otherrubber or resilient composition that is fabricated under high pressureinto sheet form, and cut to the desired shape to provide .a cut fillerblank which when placed in the shoe will maintain its uniform thicknessthroughout and smooth continuous surfaces indenitely without possibilityof the mass of which the filler is composed disintegrating or breakingdown.

It is diicult and impractical to cut such a filler blank to fitaccurately within the recesses of differently sized shoes, and in orderto use a cut filler blank that can be properly and effectively fittedwithin shoes of different sizes within certain limits, the filler blankis cut to provide a series of peripherally arranged openings I0 whichare preferably V-shaped, resulting in a multiplicity of reduced edgeportions Il at the edge of the blank, the projections Il beingpreferably tapered and defined by converging sides, thus affordingreduced edge portion on the filler blank which will readily flex or bendand adjust themselves laterally to the surrounding adjacent walldefining the recess in which the filler blank is positioned and formedby the attached portions of the upper and insole. By providing asulficient body of plastic material 9 in the gutter at the base of theattaching flange on the insole,

when the ller blank is positioned against the insole and pressed intocontact therewith, the plastic material is squeezed into the recesses orV- shaped openings IG between the tapered portions at the edge of thefiller blank, thus substantially lling the recesses and enabling thefiller blank to support the insole as completely and effectively as ifthe filler blank were cut to flt exactly within the recess in which itis tted, with its edge conforming to the adjacent surrounding wall orattached portions of the u-pper and insole.

The cut ller blank may be temporarily attached to the insole during thesubsequent operations on the shoe by spotting it with a cementing mediumon the side toward the insole after which the shoe is levelled in theusual manner and the outer sole attached either by stitching to the weltor by cementin-g to the adjacent portions of the insole and upper.

It will be understood that any suitable material may be used for the cutfiller blank as sponge rubber, rubber and cork combinations, or othercompositions that lend themselves readily to being cut, or molded to agiven shape under high pressure, and will maintain their originalflexibility and resiliency throughout the life of a shoe, and thestructure enables using such materials to produce a ller blank withoutrequiring the blank to be cut to the exact size of the Vrecess or cavityWithin which it is fitted, so that one size of blank can be employed forvarious sizes of shoes, while at the same time insuring complete supportfor the insole by the resilient filler blank throughout the width of theinsole, and uniformly smooth and uninterrupted inner surfaces of thefiller blank and insole entirely across the ball portion of the shoe.This construction entirely eliminates the possibility of bumps,depressions, or irregularities of any kind in the inner or foot-engagingsurface of the shoe insole and insures a continuous and uniformlysmooth, flexible and resilient surface supporting the insole throughoutits width and consequent absence of possible discomfort to a footresting on the insole.

While the invention has been described with reference to a particularconstruction, it is not confined to the exact details herein disclosed,and this application is intended to cover such modiiications or changesas may come within the purposes of the invention and the scope of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. A shoe structure including a soft, flexible insole, an upper attachedto the insole, an outer sole, a single-ply cut ller blank of resilientnexible material having uniform thickness throughout arranged betweenand contacting the insole and outer sole respectively and extendingentirely across the recess bounded by the attached portions of the upperand insole, said filler blank having transverse peripheral openingsaffording spaced narrow laterally flexible edge portions arranged injuxtarelation to the wall formed by said attached portions of the upperand insole, said filler also having a uniformly smooth continuous anduninterrupted cushioning surface under the insole extending entirelyacross said recess at the ball portion of the shoe, and a plastic lling'material occupying the spaces between said edge portions of the fillerblank.

2. A shoe structureincluding a soft, flexible insole having an integralattaching flange cut therefrom providing a gutter in the insole adjacentto and inwardly of the attaching flange, an upper attached to saidattaching flange of the insole, an outer sole, a single-ply cut fillerblank of resilient flexible material having uniform thickness throughoutarranged between and contacting the insole and outer sole respectivelyand extending entirely across the recess bounded by said attaching angeand the attached edge of the upper, said filler blank having transverseperipheral openings affording spaced narrow laterally flexible edgeportions arranged in juxtarelation to the wall formed by said attachedportions of the upper and insole, and a plastic ller arranged in saidgutter between said narrow edge portions and the insole and in thetransverse peripheral openings between said edge portions, the cut lleralso having a uniformly smooth continuous and uninterrupted cushioningsurface under the insole extending entirely across the ball portion ofthe shoe.

3. A shoe structure including a soft, flexible insole having an integralattaching flange cut therefrom providing a gutter in the insole adjacentto and inwardly of the attaching flange, an upper attached to saidattaching flange of the insole, an outer sole, a single-ply cut fillerblank of resilient flexible material arranged between and contacting theinsole and outer sole respectively and extending entirely across therecess bounded by said attaching flange and the attached edge of theupper, said filler blank having transverse peripheral openings affordingspaced narrow laterally flexible edge portions arranged in juxtarelationto the wall formed by said attached portions of the insole and upper,and a filler arranged in said gutter between said narrow edge portionsand the insole, said cut filler also having a uniformly smoothcontinuous and uninterrupted cushioning surface under the insoleextending entirely across the ball portion of the shoe.

HAROLD L. PIERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,348,706 Frechette Aug. 3, 19201,850,309 Thoma Mar. 22, 1932 2,035,561 McCulloch Mar. 31, 19362,124,819 Halloran July 26, 1938 2,242,941 Daniels et al. May 20, 19412,318,014 Rovick May 4, 1943 2,401,088 Lumbard May 28, 1946 2,439,172LaChapelle Apr. 6, 1948

